AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

Thanks for sharing. Not sure if it has been pulled or not. Some devices are still running 25B88 but for me, the 2C54 update took a few days. And I think a few people who had swapped out AirPods recently did get theirs updated to 2C54. But who knows.

Apple is just almost entirely silent even a month and a half later.

martinbanshee wrote:

I’ve had a set of APP since 25th December and they came with 2B588 and they will not update to the latest firmware, I’m starting to think the latest firmware has been pulled.

I originally listened to a set of APP in November when they first came out which were on the original firmware and the ANC was definitely far superior to my set which have 2B588. Also, the mids were slightly more prominent on the set I listened to with the original firmware.

I don't think it's pulled... but I can't be sure... I do have the same issue. Support suggested to me it can take up to 3 months... yes no typo... for updates to reach all devices... I don't know if they're just following a script or what though... This is the worst ANC experience I've ever had, and the worst Apple product I own, and the worst UX for updating an apple product since probably the Apple One

Most users reported their AirPods updating within a few days, reps quoting 3 months seems like a deflection from Apple.

My AirPod Pros have been working reliably so far apart from the reduced ANC so I could understand some people don’t think there’s a problem but I listened to the Pros on the original firmware and the ANC was superior to the updated firmware. I don’t believe Apple don’t know there’s a difference and I suspect their solution will probably depend on how many unhappy customers there are...and how vocal they are.

I am not recommending buying Airpods to anyone until this is resolved.

Cerlini Gabriele wrote:

So I can now say that the lessened ANC is not related to the firmware revision. It's probably some kind of hardware issue.

Oh, I suspected it. This is the worst thing that could have happened.

I very seriously doubt this actually - it was super obvious that it started immediately after the 2B588 firmware update for me. I know exactly when both of the two latest firmwares got onto my units.

I was at the Apple Store yesterday and one of the Geniuses told me that they suspect this is all a "psychological" issue where people are getting desensitized to the ANC effect over time rather than any real change due to firmware. I told him there was absolutely no way - I'm a professional musician with extremely sensitive ears and I know exactly what I'm hearing. There has been no such lessening of the effect with my big Sonys either. He said he was going to log my report for the engineering people though at least.

Psychological issue.... I'm about to have a totally different psychological issue if Apple tells me that kind of bull. Been buying these products for the past 13 years. I KNOW when there is a problem.

iPhone Software 2.0 was a PROBLEM (bricked my original iPhone) -- Personally experienced

iPhone 4 had a major antenna problem.

iPhone 6+ bending was a problem.

iOS 11 was a disaster (also caused massive SpringBoard crashes and full hard resets)

Apple caught reducing speed of older iPhones on purpose (purportedly due to battery issues -- only said once mainstream media caught on and exposed it. Denied prior)

iOS 13 was rough and had 3 updates within like a week and a half span.

Firmware version 2B588 causes problems with the AirPods Pro. Period. It's not in our heads. It's in our ears. Lol. Seriously.

If this gets deleted by mods, I will repost differently but I get sick of Apple denying problems until they become too big that they can't hide it.

Telling us that we are crazy is number one, NOT PROFESSIONAL. And number two, a good way to make a customer crazy. Wow.

Currently, this thread has 13,255 views. It has that many views because people are also experiencing this issue.

No? Well this thread has 1,542 people who have marked that they have the problem too.

This is not a "psychological issue" or "perception issue" as the Apple "Geniuses" are not implying but literally explicitly saying.

If 13,255 people viewing and 1,542 confirming by logging into their Apple ID and clicking the button doesn't prove that there is an issue, then the Geniuses at Apple seems to be the one with the "psychological issues".

Rtings said an hour ago that they're going to have measurements of ANC performance with the new firmwares posted by the end this week. That should be some hard data finally at least. If they're the same as the originals then maybe it is a hardware issue as suggested earlier. If they're different then we have ammo against the perception/psychological claim.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/discussions/wViZzszsIKnys1e6/firmware-updates-causing-poor-anc-performance

Interesting.

Well I am just back from a Genius Bar appointment. Conclusion is wait for a Firmware update. There is nothing physically wrong with my APP and she thinks the next update should correct the problems.

Guess I have to wait.

Today I returned to the Apple Store after they replaced my first APP individual left and right units last week following the ANC and yellow seal fit test result as they wouldn’t sync as a pair in my original charge case.

I spent an hour in store while they trouble shooted and supposedly updated the firmware but nothing changed so they gave me a brand new sealed set running firmware 2B588. I’m getting a green good seal again and the ANC does sound better than my original pair did after this whole fiasco but definitely not as good as at launch!

Let’s see if they release a firmware with the ANC reverted back to the original, otherwise I might have to return.

While my APP were out of order I was using Air Pods and damnnn the fit sucks! So I kind of want to keep the APP despite ANC no longer being what it was buuuuut who can really justify $400 of the main feature fails to work.

FYI its been edited... 

Posted 19 hours ago by Ian McPhail (RTINGS.com)

Jan 06, 2020 12:25 PM By Dush 

37

Thanks for that link - glad they finally recognised the issue. Ian - any change on getting those measurements posted? Will be very interesting now to compare different firmware versions since Apple are working on the issue themselves.

Expecting to have them by the end of week, will keep you all in the loop!

Edited 17 hours ago: typo

memories_of_green wrote:

It is like a completly different product now, I will start using my Bose instead and hoping this will be resolved soon with a better firmware.

Exactly the same situation! It will soon be a month since Apple took away my headphones as a result of a failed firmware 2C54 update! I just can't use them and I don't take them with me anymore. I am a musician and I know very well what the perception issue is. This is definitely not the case. Before update, when ANC was enabled, I used the volume level of 70%. Now at the same volume level I clearly hear my footsteps while walking. And it's very annoying. I tried to increase the volume level to 85% in order not to hear my footsteps, but it's too loud and can damage my ears over time. So I just stopped using them at all. Thanks Apple :(

Yep, I’m on 2C54 and I am experiencing worse NC than the day I purchased. Sometimes I toggle it just to check that NC is actually on, since I can hear so much.

i also heard a slight static noise in the right hand side, perhaps I should get them swapped...

They’ll never admit anything. Like “you’re holding it wrong” for so long.

they released them with 3x ANC mode and got rave reviews and then toned it down with firmware afterwards to get people to like them for more ANC comfort and are currently riding off into the sunset with all our cash chuckling so they can release AirPod Pro 2 in September with amazing ANC again and a side by side with APP will show a 3x better ANC

Virtual Geek's post is very helpful.

I totally forgot about me testing the AirPods on day one by SNAPPING my fingers. I also couldn't hear my snapping when I was walking outside of the Apple Store when I first got them! Now it's literally like no difference.

Also perfect description of that "vacuum" or suction feeling... Before it was legit like we were in a space vacuum... He says it's about 30%, I would say about 20-25% of what it felt like before...

Yeah we are not crazy... We are all experiencing the exact same issue after the exact same firmware update (and then a subsequent one) so I don't know....

I just got off the phone with Apple and they are still waiting on Engineering to get back to the other rep about all of the data they collected from me so far.